The papers consist of Irish poet John Ennis's writings, working files related to his role as an editor of four anthologies of Irish and Canadian poetry and the Poetry Ireland Review, correspondence pertaining to poetry and other professional activities, files of the Irish arts organization Poetry Ireland, teaching materials, drafts of writings by others, subject files, and audiovisual and digital media. Materials span the length of Ennis's career of over five decades as a poet and literary editor and also document to a lesser extent his work as a creative writing teacher and university administrator.

Ennis's writings include manuscript and typescript drafts, proofs, publicity, source materials, and other papers related to his published poetry and unpublished work from the late 1960s through 2016. While most of this material pertains to Ennis's poetry, there are also drafts of lyrics he wrote for musical collaborations with composer Eric Sweeney and unpublished short stories, as well as a bound copy of Ennis's PhD thesis on the use of myth and archetype in his own work. Additional editorial files document the conception, assembly, and publication of the four anthologies of Irish and Canadian poetry Ennis edited between 2002 and 2009; these files consist of correspondence, submissions, permissions, drafts, proofs, editorial notes, publicity, and financial documents.

Ennis's papers also include materials documenting the activities of Poetry Ireland from its inception in 1978 through the 1990s, as well as its journal Poetry Ireland Review, which Ennis edited from 1988 to 1989; correspondence with fellow poets, editors, publishers, and colleagues; readings, handouts, and lecture drafts from Ennis's tenure as a creative writing lecturer and workshop facilitator; drafts of writings by others that Ennis collected throughout his career; professional subject files containing correspondence, documents, and printed materials related to Irish poetry and various local and international organizations with which Ennis was involved; and a small number of recorded poetry readings, interviews, and other events.